Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Tomorrow over on FoodGPS, we talk about making a beer for your wedding reception with Enegren Brewing and the Four Points LAX. So I thought I would pass by some wedding themed beers for your perusal that I found on the RateBeer site….
Boring (until made royal)
Bell’s Wedding Ale
Drakes Wedding Wit
Adnams Royal Wedding
for the Bride
Moylan’s Bridal Ale from NorCal
Pelican Bridal Ale from the Oregon Coast
for the groom
Deschutes Bachelor Bitter
Societe Bachelor
for the DJ
Alameda Brickhouse Brown
If April is when the beer events kick up a notch then May in Los Angeles is when it goes up all the way to 11 and in between the new beers and beer reviews and brewery tours (the sit in your chair kind), I will endeavor to keep you updated on what is happening in the Southland. To that end I have updated the LA Craft Beer Resources page. More links but easier to find what you are in the mood for beer-wise. I also updated my personal favorite page as well. So check out what I like and compare to what You like.
~ e-visits to the newest breweries in the State of Washington. (Justice, West Seattle and Urban Family)
~ video reviews tackles two beers from Mikkeller (one a single hop and one a single yeast) plus more beer reviews minus the videos
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world
~ … and Session # 75 will converge bloggers onto a single topic
~ plus many more posts about new beers, beer products and breweries
Here are two events to get your May started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) May 4th Dogfish Head Tap take-over at Blue Palms
2) May 18 Smog City tap-room Grand Opening!
Enjoying the gamut of craft beer on a budget. It can be difficult simply because of the wealth of choices. LA is behind the craft curve and I could still easily drop many Franklins (or should I say Dead Presidents) trying to choose between new beers from Cambridge Brewing or barrel aged offerings from Cismontane. And that is not counting just trying to have beer on hand in the ‘fridge.
But you can get by even with less. First off, find places that sell singles or mixed six packs. Trader Joes being one and Sunset Beer Co another here in Los Angeles. That way you can taste a rainbow of styles instead of just one. And if you want to compound the interest, get a friend to get six other beers. Now you have 12 new beers.
When you head to your local beer bar order the sampler trays. At first glance it is more expensive than one pint but you will get a wide variety (usually four to five beers) and it is usually the same per ounce price if you want to do all that math stuff.
The third piece of advice is to not over drink. It is better to have one beer and really enjoy it than to have three or four in one night. More than likely the last one will be a blur and you will have not gotten the most of your money.
Ask for samples. Ask for half-pints. Don’t be afraid of the bar staff. Most places encourage experimentation and will not turn down a customer. But be responsible and buy something plus tip well. Otherwise you many not get the same treatment the next time that you land on the barstool.
Don’t let high prices scare you off. A Firestone-Walker Anniversary beer or Parabola is well worth it. If you can’t find a bottle, follow your favorite brewery on the interwebs to find special events where the possibility of getting a taster for less money may happen.
Lastly happy hour is your friend. Use it.
The fastest growing brewery in Arizona? According to some it is SanTan Brewing based in a historic bank building in Chandler.
Since 2007, they have been pairing craft beer with craft food and if you are a better talker than I, conversation too.
Their Brewmaster is Anthony Canecchia who releases “specialty seasonal beers, small batch specialty beers, a weekly Cask Conditioned Ale as well as guest beers from brewers both local and around the nation.”
And these beers caught my attention…..
Mr. Pineapple
“Winner of a silver medal at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival competition, Mr. Pineapple was originally conceived for SanTan Brewing Company’s annual Luau Day. Hazy straw gold in color, we add natural pineapple juice to a traditional wheat beer creating a refreshing tropical flavor. The pineapple is balanced with a firm malt character and a slightl hint of clove. Mr. Pineapple is the perfect way to beat the heat on a warm summer day!”
Railslide
“RailSlide Imperial Spiced Ale is based on a traditional English Strong Ale and brewed with Winter flavors, including fresh ginger, cinnamon and licorice that add an edge to this smoothly spiced ale. Deep Autumn Brown in color, SanTan celebrates the pioneering punk spirit of the American Craft Brewer with this delicious brew.”
Negro Nitron IPA
“Negro Nitron Black IPA Arizona’s first Nitrogenated Black I.P.A.!!! Midnight Wheat gives this beer its deep garnet black hue without the sharp burnt flavor of traditional roasted malts. Negro Nitron is a clean, crisp & hoppy Black IPA. Nitrogen gives this beer a soft velvety mouth feel & the bold American hops on center stage.”
Here is the latest info from Goose Island….
I love the cheesy music and what must have been a painful position atop barrels from which to ask questions but even better was the answers. Grapefruit? Sounds good to me.
We all know that southern California and Los Angeles in particular is a car intensive culture. We measure time and not miles. We speak fluent highway numbers. And yet, for a autopia, we have no place that combines filling stations that do both gas and beer.
That is why I fervently hope that the Growler Guys head to LA. Where are they now? Bend, Oregon.
Do you want Chimay Tripel while you fill your Camry? Good Life Sweet as Pacific Hybrid Beer while you top off your Prius? Or maybe something from Deschutes?
And if that is not enough, read on and be amazed as I was….”When you pull your vehicle up to the pump, an extremely friendly looking person in an old fashioned, white gas attendant’s uniform (hat included) comes running up to your window. All of the attendants are very polite when taking your fueling preferences; they always ask if you would like your tank topped off. While you wait for your tank to be filled, they clean your windshield and actually get every speck of debris off.”
Almost makes you want to move to Bend.
I have been passing by these crackers at Whole Foods for months now. The price was always too high for my taste. But a week ago, they were finally on sale! So I picked up the porter variety with the thought that the porter would seep into the cracker more than pilsner would seep into that version.
The aroma on these crackers is a surprising and very brewery reminiscent wort smell. Unfortunately, after that point, the taste was full on dark rye. Not that a rye cracker is bad per se. But the aroma led me down a path that then corkscrewed on me. After having a couple, I realized that this version would be harder to pair with a beer and with cheese. There are rye IPA’s out there but that would be a battle of two strong tastes. And I fear that most cheese would run into the brick wall of rye as well.
So a slight thumbs up. And I will be watching to see if they go on sale again. And I will check to see if the Pilsner version has rye in the ingredient list.
Victor Novak didn’t have any TAPS beers flowing last Saturday but there were 30+ other breweries on hand in Brea for the 1st Annual Craft Beer Festival.
Now on to my checklist for what makes a good festival….
Water? Yup, two stations on either side of the patio.
Variety? Double Yup. There were IPA’s and kolsch’s and Mrs. Stoutfire. Something for everyone.
Rare beers for the geeks? Yes, again. Ballast Point Homework Series. The last of Pole Position IPA from Beachwood. Naughty Sauce…
Seating and room flow? It was easy to navigate and there were literally no lines except for short ones at the two food areas and yes you could rest your feet if you were feeling “Far Out”
So which beers struck my fancy? Naughty Sauce was my favorite. Evan from Noble has a new cult classic on his hands with this one. Paradox from Kinetic was a fitting cap to my day and the other beer that caught my fancy was the Belgianized brown from Henry at Monkish…
Taking into account that this was a first go (but also taking into that same account that Victor has been to a few of these rodeo’s before). This was well done. Food was plentiful. Including a dessert option which you rarely see. There was an excellent mix of breweries and even the bright sun was brought to heel by strategic use of many umbrella’s.
I have no rating system, save for one. Would I go again next year? And that answer is yes.
My beer buddy Richard took time out from the L.A. beer scene and spent a few days in San Diego. Here are the photo highlights of the trip…
You can check out his blog for further details
Black Isle Brewery in Scotland got a lot of press for their Cold Turkey Breakfast beer. A whopping 2.8% ABV monster. Apparently some folks are not used to brash marketing. Wait, BrewDog has been doing it as well!
All sarcasm aside, certain beers by dint of name or marketing catch on with the Social Media hordes. But hopefully, this will bring more attention to the other ORGANIC beers that Black Isle brews. If it gets more people to buy the Pollinator Honey/heather beer or their pale ale then it is a job well done.
And for the record, I would sample the Cold Turkey. Sounds refreshing for a hot day in L.A.